Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, January 2, 2008

NBC holds off Fox’s presentation of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowlwhich rated below last season’s airing. NBC was helped by a strong showing from Deal or No Deal and an even stronger showing from the season premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the nights most-watched program.

While NBC took the win among households and viewers, Fox still rated slightly better among adults 18-49, while ABC managed a tie with NBC for second thanks to the networks returning reality lineup of Wife Swap and Supernanny which both posted solidi ncreases from last year’s premiere.

NBC finished in first place for the evening with a 8.5/13 household rating/share and 13.02 million viewers, but was tied for second among adults 18-49 with a 3.7/9 rating/share.

Fox followed in second place for the evening with a 7.3/11 household rating/share and 11.54 million viewers, but managed a first place finish among adults 18-49 with a 4.1/11 rating/share among adults 18-49.

Last Week:

Households – 4.3/7 [#3]

Viewers – 7.25M [#2]

Adults 18-49 – 2.4/7 [#1]

Because results for live-sporting events often change when the finals are released, this section, for Fox only, is based on the final national numbers.

Note: Network average numbers from the week prior are based on fast national data. Comparison’s from the week prior (or episode-to-episode, etc.) on specific shows are based on final national data. Ratings for the current day are based on fast nationals. (Expect all three scenarios to be the case at all times, unless otherwise noted). The final rating for first-run episodes that aired this evening will be reported the following week. So for example, the final rating for tonights episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” will be reported in next weeks report for Wednesday, January 9, 2008.

Also keep in mind that because these are fast national ratings, numbers may increase or decrease when the final nationals are released.